There’s no point only making a few portions of this! Freeze any excess.

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

Serves 6

2½kg/5lb 8oz oxtail, cut into even-sized pieces

Vegetable base

1 bulb of garlic, unpeeled

4 red onions, unpeeled

120g/4½oz ginger, unpeeled

Spice base

5 star anise

8 cloves

1 stick of cassia or cinnamon

5 green cardamom pods

1 tbsp black peppercorns

1 tbsp sea salt

185ml/6fl oz fish sauce

25g/1oz palm sugar or caster sugar, plus extra, to taste

400g/14oz flat rice noodles

Garnishes

Vietnamese mint (optional)

Thai basil (optional)

Coriander

Bean sprouts

Thai bird’s-eye chillies, sliced

Lime wedges

Fish sauce

Place the oxtail in a large pan and fill with 4 litres of cold water. Bring to the boil for 4 minutes, then turn down to a simmer, skimming any scum as it rises.

Meanwhile, heat a griddle pan or large frying pan over a medium heat and add the unpeeled garlic, onions and ginger. Dry-fry, moving them frequently until they are blackened on the outside and the garlic and onions feel soft inside. Leave to cool, then peel with a sharp knife.

In the same pan over a low heat, toast the spices until they begin to smell fragrant – about 2-3 minutes. Leave to cool, then lightly grind and place in a spice bag or tie up in muslin or a clean kitchen cloth.

Add the peeled vegetables and spice bag to the oxtails along with the salt, fish sauce and sugar. Continue simmering for 3 hours until the meat is falling off the bones.

Strain and discard everything other than the meat, then return stock to the same pan. Adjust the seasoning to taste, adding fish sauce, sugar or salt until it tastes good to you. Pull the meat off the bones and discard the bones and any gristle.

Bring a pan of water to the boil, pour over the noodles and leave for 15 minutes until tender. Rinse under cold water so they don’t stick together, then place in your serving bowls. Ladle over the hot stock and the oxtail meat and serve with the garnishes, encouraging people to help themselves.

There’s no point only making a few portions of this! Freeze any excess.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 6

2½kg/5lb 8oz oxtail, cut into even-sized pieces

Vegetable base

1 bulb of garlic, unpeeled

4 red onions, unpeeled

120g/4½oz ginger, unpeeled

Spice base

5 star anise

8 cloves

1 stick of cassia or cinnamon

5 green cardamom pods

1 tbsp black peppercorns

1 tbsp sea salt

185ml/6fl oz fish sauce

25g/1oz palm sugar or caster sugar, plus extra, to taste

400g/14oz flat rice noodles

Garnishes

Vietnamese mint (optional)

Thai basil (optional)

Coriander

Bean sprouts

Thai bird’s-eye chillies, sliced

Lime wedges

Fish sauce

METHOD

Place the oxtail in a large pan and fill with 4 litres of cold water. Bring to the boil for 4 minutes, then turn down to a simmer, skimming any scum as it rises.

Meanwhile, heat a griddle pan or large frying pan over a medium heat and add the unpeeled garlic, onions and ginger. Dry-fry, moving them frequently until they are blackened on the outside and the garlic and onions feel soft inside. Leave to cool, then peel with a sharp knife.

In the same pan over a low heat, toast the spices until they begin to smell fragrant – about 2-3 minutes. Leave to cool, then lightly grind and place in a spice bag or tie up in muslin or a clean kitchen cloth.

Add the peeled vegetables and spice bag to the oxtails along with the salt, fish sauce and sugar. Continue simmering for 3 hours until the meat is falling off the bones.

Strain and discard everything other than the meat, then return stock to the same pan. Adjust the seasoning to taste, adding fish sauce, sugar or salt until it tastes good to you. Pull the meat off the bones and discard the bones and any gristle.

Bring a pan of water to the boil, pour over the noodles and leave for 15 minutes until tender. Rinse under cold water so they don’t stick together, then place in your serving bowls. Ladle over the hot stock and the oxtail meat and serve with the garnishes, encouraging people to help themselves.

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